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Clarence Jacobs is 94 years old and has been
interested in research about James Bowie and his
knives since 2002. I published his first version about
the Bowie knife in the Jan/Feb 2004 issue. But here,
Clarence has presented a new and interesting version
with a picture and a very convincing, concluding
statement.
“More nonsense has been written over the last
century and a half about James Bowie and the Bowie
knife than any other episode in his heavily mythologized
life,” wrote W.C. Davis in his book titled Three Roads
to the Alamo. (1) But he had little to say about Bowie’s
knives. However, his exhaustive research produced an
abundance of evidence never before found by other
researchers.
THE STORY
This story begins with an Indian fight that happened
during Bowie’s November 1831 expedition of eleven
men. The fight is well documented in reports by three
of the expedition’s members: James Bowie, his brother
Rezin, and Caiaphas Ham, James’ close friend. (3,4,5)
Their activities in the Indian fight are critically important
to the origin of the Bowie knife. Each man tells what
happened during and after the fight. The following
description of the Indian fight is taken from those three
accounts unless otherwise noted.
The 11 men rode out of San Antonio on November
2, 183l. On November 21, 100 miles out and within a
few miles of their destination, they were attacked by
more than 100 Tawakoni Indians. The expedition
members, in addition to using their camp shovels and
picks, were forced to use their knives in a flurry of
excitement to dig up rocks and dirt, and to cut brush to
build protective breastworks.
At one time during the fight, the Indians withdrew
to a distance of about 800 yards and encamped. Taking
advantage of the lull, the expedition worked hard again
at the earthwork and succeeded in raising the fortification
breast high by ten 0’clock. After two more days of
fighting, the Indians quit - perhaps due to their great
number of battle casualties.
But the expedition remained eight days behind its
rock and dirt fort, as they were apprehensive about the
SAM HOUSTON, DICTATING ORDERS
TO MAJOR HOCKLEY
32